Wrapping device



Aug. 5, `1941. H. 'FORST ETAL' WRAPPING DEVICE Filed April 8. 1940 ATTORNEYS,v

Patented Aug. 5, 1941 f .WRAHINGDEVICE Edward M. Norton, Kingston,

, Henry Forstand N; Y'., asvsignorsV to Forst Packing Company,

Inc., Kingston,

Y., a corporation ofiNew segnatamente s, 1940, seriaiNo. 328,472

rThis invention relates to,a wrapping device and more-particularly to a, device forpackag-ing commodities suchV as bacon or the like. *n Y An object of the invention is to provide-a simple, convenient and commercially.r practical de#A vice of the type above indicated.

Anotherobject is to provide a device of the type above indicated which may be operated manually or automatically for folding and packaging commodities.

Another object is to provide a device of the above type which is simple in construction and which may be rapidly and conveniently operated.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention are more particularly pointed out in the claim appended hereto, the invention itself may be better understood by referring to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which a specific embodiment thereof has been set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top perspective View showing the folding device at the beginning of the folding operation.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View thereof.

Fig 3 is a perspective view of the bacon as it is supplied to the wrapping device.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the wrapping device showing one of the wrapping operations.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 4 showing another step in the wrapping operation,

and

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the completed package.

In the following description and in the claim certain spec-inc terms are used for convenience in referring to various details of the invention. These terms, however, are to be given as broad an interpretation as the state of the art will per- 'Y mit.

Referring to the drawing more .in detail, the folding and packaging device comprises a base 2, which may be made of Wood, metal or other rigid material. E2 are loosely hinged to this base I by suitable means such as by flexible straps I4 which may be made of spring steel or the like so as to firmly hold the wings in extended condition, as shown in Fig. 2. The straps I4 may be loosely secured A pair of side wings II and 2 `tothe base I0 and to the wings and I2 so as to provide a suicient amount of play for the pur- -pose to be described. Invthe embodiment shown,

these straps are secured tothe base I0 by screws |5 yand are looselyv held to the wings and I2 byloops 0r straps. I6 n Y Y y pair of endWingsZII-and 2 I-are also provided which are constructed in a manner similar to the side Wings I I and I2 and are also held by suitable hinge means such as iiexible straps 22. It will be understood that Fig. 2 shows the bottom or back of the device and that the arrangement is such that the wings II, l2, 20 and 2| may be folded over the base I as indicated, for example, in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. The straps I4 and 22 are adapted to provide sufficient clearance to accommodate the particular package which is being wrapped or folded by the device.

The present invention is particularly applicable to the packaging of bacon and for convenience, will be described in connection therewith. In packing plants, strips of bacon 25 are automatically laid out by a cutting machine upon the backing material 26, usually paper. In this form they are weighed and packaged.

In order to suitably fold and wrap the bacon a sheet of iiexible paper 21, such as Cellophane or the like, which is to appear on the outside of the package is first laid upon the front face of the wrapping device. For this purpose the wings II, I2, 2|! and 2| are extended in the plane of the base I0, as shown in Fig. l. The paper 26 with the bacon 25 thereon is now turned bottom up and laid upon the Cellophane 21. The bacon is sufficiently adherent to remain upon the paper 25 when it is thus inverted. The material is now in the position shown in Fig. 1, with the bacon held between the paper 26 and the Cellophane 21.

As the first step in the folding operation the end wings 20 and 2| are manually folded over as shown in Fig. 4. This folds over the ends of the paper 26 and of the Cellophane 21 which extend beyond the ends of the'strips of bacon 25 to form end flanges 30 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

The end wings 20 and 2| are now released and are caused by the resilience of the strips 22 to retain to their extended position. One of the side wings, for example, the side wing I2 is now folded over, as shown in Fig. 6, thereby folding over a portion of the bacon and the associated paper 26 and'Cellophane 21.

For the next step of the folding operation the side wing I2 is released and is permitted to return to upstanding position thereby forming a stop for the package. With the Wing l2 in this position, the Weight of the bacon holds the material in its folded position. The side Wing Il is now folded over for completing the packaging operation. The folding of the side wings I2 and l I as above indicated, folds the bacon package so as to form a pair of overlapping top folds 3| and 32. The folding is now completed and the package is passed to a suitable Wrapping or stamping station or is placed in a box for sale or shipment.

The above described folding mechanism enables the operator to rapidly fold the bacon packages in a uniform manner so that the product is neat and pleasing in appearance and the various packaged contents are identical in size and shape. Furthermore the packages are readily formed Without the necessity for giving special attention thereto.

Itis to be understood, of course, that the above described device may be automatically operated by means of a suitable belt conveyor having provisions for progressively folding the various wings as above mentioned. If desired, a fabric or the like may be disposed over the base of the device or in certain instances the fabric may provide the hinge means for securing the wings Il,

I2, 20 and 2|, in which event the strips I4 and 22 may -be omitted, or suitable spring means may be provided for returning the Wings to extended position.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown for purposes of illustration, the invention is capable of various uses and it will be understood that changes and modifications may be made therein as will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art. 'I'he invention is only to be limited in accordance with the following claim.

What is claimed is:

A packaging device comprising a base, a pair of side Wings, a pair of end wings, and hinge means comprising flat flexible spring members securing said side and end wings to said base and normally holding the same in extended position wherein the upper surfaces thereof form a continuation of the upper surface of said base, said spring members being adapted to permit said Wings to independently fold over said base for packaging purposes and being secured so as to provide clearance for a package when the wings are folded over the base.

HENRY FORST. EDWARD M. NORTON. 

